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Good morning! Turn on the lights today. Coming up: 

Lights? SMU wins electric game

Don Juan Moore / Getty Images

I am unsure even where to start with what happened in Tallahassee, Fla., last night. 

The game itself? An entertaining 27-24 win for No. 19 SMU on the road in the Mustangs’ season opener. The circumstances around the game? A 90-minute delay thanks to a power outage that left both teams without most of the technology they’re used to playing with. The fallout? Despite showing some resilience, Florida State coach Mike Norvell remains on a sizzling seat after getting outgained 585-329 last night. 

Read our full report here. What a strange evening.

Characters: A player, a coach and an owner walk into a bar

Yesterday, we took a 30,000-foot view of the NFL season. Today, I want to home in a bit on three people in particular, at three different stations of the league. They’re all pretty important, though. Let’s start on the field: 

1. DK Metcalf, conspiracy theorist
Metcalf intrigues me. He is one of the best physical specimens we’ve ever seen play football, but his career has taken a strange turn after a blockbuster trade to Pittsburgh last offseason. He had the worst year of his career while his old team, Seattle, won the Super Bowl. And at 28, how many more years of prime does he have left? 

Jonathan Jones got Metcalf to open up in a great story out today, which touches on the receiver’s perceived anger management issues, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and, yes, his love for conspiracy theories. Metcalf believes there is another civilization, a secret one, located underneath the ice of Antarctica. 

“Yeah, I’m a big conspiracy theorist,” Metcalf said in the story. “Shout out to my quarterback.” Click. 

2. Zac Taylor, pressure lover
There may be no team under more scrutiny than the Bengals, who have a quarterback in Joe Burrow who’s a leading MVP candidate and also loudly talking about how the team needs to win a Super Bowl very soon. Forgive my speculation, but all this seems to indicate a breaking point if Cincinnati doesn’t find success this year. 

Which makes Taylor, the Bengals coach, the No. 1 scapegoat should things go wrong. As Paul Dehner Jr. wrote today, the proverbial stars are aligned in Cincinnati in ways they haven’t seen in years. Everyone’s done their job. Now, Taylor has to do his.

Ed Mulholland / Getty Images

3. Woody Johnson, a changed man?
The Jets owner does not have a great track record with this franchise. Ask any Jets fan about that. And, in recent years, your first thought about Johnson is how he used “Madden” ratings in real-life decisions. Not great. 

But, as Zack Rosenblatt wrote this morning, Johnson, 79, is apparently making amends. There is a culture, a plan and some perspective. Johnson won’t be around forever and, according to those around him, he cares deeply about the franchise, despite his failures. He wants to leave it in good shape for his family when he departs. 

I don’t know if it helps the Jets this year. But read this and try not to be swayed, at least a bit.

News to Know

Zheng does it again
For the second straight U.S. Open match, Zheng Qinwen came back from down 5-0 in a set to win both the set and ultimately the match, wielding her incredible karmic weapon against poor Iga ƚwiątek yesterday. For ƚwiątek, it’s another unfortunate stumble this year. On the other hand, Zheng, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist, is a real threat to win this tournament. 

Whittingham offers wan support of Underwood
Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham said Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood is the team’s starter “for now,” which comes two days after Underwood & Co. got saved by a controversial last-second Hail Mary touchdown pass to eke by Western Michigan. It’s early, but to consider this reality after Michigan’s massive recruiting coup to land Underwood two years ago is astounding. The pressure is on this weekend. See Whittingham’s full statements. 

The enhanced scrutiny on Underwood, as Joe Rexrode writes, is an unfortunate sign of the times.

Banks still undecided
Soccer player Noahkai Banks, the dual German-American citizen, has not decided who to play for internationally, despite being in consideration for the 2026 World Cup. USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino gave an update on the 19-year-old yesterday, as he represents a critical demographic for recruiting if Pochettino wants the Americans to level up by 2030. Banks, who plays for Bundesliga side Augsburg, said he will likely decide in the next two months. Read more here.

More news:

North Carolina coach Bill Belichick was terse when asked about the ongoing internal investigation into his program. Read his comments.
The Big 12 withdrew its lawsuit against Texas Tech. What a time.
Team USA did indeed bounce back from a tight win over Italy with a blowout victory against Czechia in the FIBA Women’s World Cup. Read our recap.
Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg removed himself from consideration in the Red Wings’ GM search. Detroit’s strange offseason continues.
The Kansas City Current parted with sporting director Vlatko Andonovski, who’s a former NWSL Coach of the Year and U.S. women’s national team manager. More details here.
Tua Tagovailoa is the starting quarterback in Atlanta for the moment.
Cowboys guard Tyler Smith will miss four to six weeks with a thumb injury. More details here.
Meanwhile, Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce will play in the season opener this weekend against the Ravens. Pierce had ankle surgery in March.

📰 Find more news here 24/7.

Watch Guide

đŸ“ș Soccer: Champions League
12:45 p.m. & 3 p.m. ET on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network
Here begins the full bore of European soccer season, with each country’s top leagues in full swing, and now we have the Champions League making exquisite cameos. See the full slate of six matches here. We have a long road ahead, too, in the best way. 

James Horncastle wrote a really great guide on what to expect.

đŸ“ș Tennis: U.S. Open quarterfinals
11:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
We have four matches staggered today, all of them great. On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka faces Linda Noskova in the early window, with Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro in an all-American matchup in the late portion. On the men’s side, Frances Tiafoe and fellow American Alex Michelsen are first, with Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz serving up a tantalizing final match of the day. Just watch. 

đŸ“ș MLB: Astros at Phillies
6:40 p.m. ET on TBS
Philadelphia is eight games better than Houston in the standings, yet the ‘Stros are AL West leaders and the Phils still sit four games back in the NL East. Such is life in MLB sometimes. Still, these are two playoff teams fighting for positioning.

Pulse Picks

It’s always nice to know about a young star before any of your friends. Jourdan Rodrigue has a list of 15 young players the NFL is buzzing about before the regular season starts. Study up. 

I thought this story from Mark Puleo, on the scene in State College, Pa., about Jerry Sandusky’s case coming up again while Penn State tries to embrace Joe Paterno’s legacy was great. Make time for this. 

We have college football quarterback overreactions after Week 1. Alabama QB Keelon Russell might be really good,

The end of NHL training camp always brings a roster squeeze. Here are 11 interesting names that could hit the waiver wire. 

If you missed it yesterday, our Premier League Briefing was great, led by the biggest question: How ominous does Arsenal look?

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The latest in the Cardinals hat-tilt scandal. 

Most-read on the website yesterday: Bold predictions for every NFL team.